The Bar Council of India (BCI) has officially reversed its controversial directive that prohibited state bar councils from enrolling law graduates of the 2026 batch from the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) University of Law, Hyderabad as practicing advocates. The regulatory body modified an earlier instruction issued under BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra, thereby removing restrictions on the graduating class. The resolution came alongside firm observations from Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, who asked the council to step back from the ongoing matter. Encouraging the graduating students, the Chief Justice advised them to secure their professional advocate licenses at the earliest and invited them to join the Supreme Court Bar.
Judicial Stance and Regulatory Turnaround
The regulatory body had originally issued a countrywide communication instructing state units to withhold advocate registration for NALSAR graduates. Facing scrutiny over the measure, BCI retracted the order within a matter of hours. The Supreme Court has since sought a formal response from BCI regarding its circular while issuing an explicit stay against any disciplinary or punitive proceedings targeting NALSAR students or faculty members involved in the campus protest.
Addressing the council's actions, Chief Justice Surya Kant highlighted his own background in student movement activism while questioning BCI's authority to intrude into the university dialogue
"यह बिल्कुल अनावश्यक था। मैं खुद भी एक छात्र रहा हूं और विरोध प्रदर्शनों में सक्रिय रूप से शामिल रहा हूं। यह मेरे और छात्रों के बीच बातचीत का मामला है। इसमें दखल देने वाले वे कौन होते हैं?"
Bar Association Objections and Campus Controversy
The attempt to block law graduates from entering the profession met with sharp criticism from senior legal figures. Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), condemned the BCI circular, terming the council's punitive measure as arbitrary, illegal, and disproportionately harsh.
The controversy originated when approximately 450 NALSAR students raised objections to inviting Chief Justice Surya Kant as the chief guest for the 2026 convocation ceremony. Although NALSAR maintains a long-standing academic tradition of having the Chief Justice of India deliver the keynote address at its annual convocation, an initial group of around 70 graduating students from the 2026 batch formally petitioned the Vice Chancellor, Registrar, faculty, and administration to reconsider the invitation.
Underlying Factors and Judicial Background
The convocation protest rapidly gained momentum across different academic years. By the end of July, an additional 380 to 450 students belonging to the 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030, and 2031 batches joined the boycott initiative. In their representation to the university leadership, the student group cited commitments to academic independence and constitutional accountability, maintaining that hosting the head of the judiciary under current circumstances compromised those principles.
The student discontent was tied to recent Supreme Court proceedings concerning the national NEET dispute and public demonstrations. During hearings regarding police action against student protesters in the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) march at Jantar Mantar, Chief Justice Surya Kant had remarked that litigants should refrain from wasting judicial time. Furthermore, during proceedings related to the Delhi NEET protests, the bench noted that not even a single-page petition had been formally submitted before the court. These courtroom exchanges prompted the NALSAR student boycott, leading to BCI's temporary enrollment sanction which has now been fully revoked.
